The Greatest Smoked Chicken Recipe

Our smoked chicken recipes are the result of a quest for the perfectly smoked chicken; succulent, tender, with that unbeatable smoke flavor, with no hassle at the grill or smoker. The "Cookin' Cousins" share our techniques, including beer can chicken.

Chicken pickin' at the market can be rather baffling, so here's our quick pick method for the easiest, safest bet.

Choose a broiler-fryer (2-3 lbs.) with a U.S.D.A. Grade A rating, and the freshest "sell-by" date. This will provide 3-5 servings, and gives you an idea of how much to buy for the gang. We love leftovers!

Unless you are a connoisseur of fine fowl, we have found that most of the birds available at the supermarkets are fine. Our recipes will give you excellent results, whether they are water or air chilled.

Frozen the only thing around? Most fowl (regardless of type) are frozen to preserve freshness, and is generally preferred. We prefer to...

Thaw chicken in the refrigerator. This is the safest (albeit slowest), problem free method to slow the growth of harmful bacteria. Think 5 hours per pound. Now, let's...

Start with a rub!

We love to "rub" our bird with a few spices to blend in with the smoke. Our recipe, for the cooker of your choice, includes a favorite chicken rub. Check out our Dry Rub Recipes page for more on this.